Comprehending Care: Problems and Possibilities in the Ethics of Care

American psychologist Carol Gilligan holds that dominant ethical theories, with their strong emphasis on rights and justice, fail to see how care is an indispensable part of moral life. This failure weakens their credibility as adequate, universal ethical theories. In Comprehending Care, Tove Pettersen investigates whether an ethics of care really does give voice to a normative perspective that traditional moral theory has disregarded. More specifically, she considers whether Carol Gilligan's own theoretical contribution is an ethical theory of care, and if it is likely to contribute to such a revised understanding. Pettersen demonstrates that central elements in a consistent and justifiable ethics of care theory can in fact be extracted from her works. Comprehending Care is appropriate for upper level students and researchers in philosophy and ethics. Book jacket.